One of the obvious byproducts of the current information age is that people are often granted easy access to a wealth of data hat is normally considered confidential information. Through one’s career in Irvine, he or she might be able to view countless data elements such as names, dates or birth, addresses and social security numbers. Access to such information typically comes as a privilege of one’s job, with strict instructions regarding its retrieval, use and storage. Violations of such guidelines can not only result in one losing his or her job, but also leave him or her facing criminal charges.
Sometimes, the misuse of confidential information may be blatant. That appears to be the case with a now former employee of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau. The man admitted to pulling the demographic information of countless aliens out of ICE’s database as well as from actual hard-copy immigration files. He used that information to obtain loans, open lines of credit, secure credit cards and make large purchases, all under the names he took from his work resources. He also set up utility accounts and even listed some of the names as dependents on his tax returns. In all, he supposedly gained close to $200,000 from this scheme.
This case illustrates just how easy it can be for one to use easily-accessed business data for nefarious reasons. Due to this ease, authorities and employers are often quick to jump on cases whether they believe there might be potential misuse. Yet each supposed offense may not actually be intentional. Those who are facing scrutiny over the use of private data may end up having to defend that use in criminal. In such, the assistance and support of an experienced attorney can be invaluable.